What Bonsai Pots for What Bonsai Trees?

The type of bonsai pot we should get is based on the species, as well as the bonsai style, of our bonsai tree. For example, conifers blend well with naturally colored, unglazed bonsai pots of browns and grays, whereas deciduous trees look great in either unglazed or glazed bonsai pots of just about any color.

Color

We should also consider how the bonsai pot will blend with the strong autumn colors, as well as how the bonsai pot will match with the flowering season of our bonsai tree. While some bonsai lovers like to plant their flowering bonsai trees in glazed pots of brighter colors, such as whites, creams, blues, and greens, I often prefer a dark, plain bonsai pot to stand out the beautiful, bright colors of my flowering bonsai tree.

If we are unsure what bonsai pot color we should choose, it is always save to select a shade that is similar to the trunk of the bonsai tree.

In addition, for heavily glazed pots, the color of the glaze will age and wear off slightly over its lifetime. Indeed, some people like to wipe the glaze with French polish, wood scratch remover or similar fine oil to speed up the process and give the glazed pot a slightly more natural look and aged feeling.

Shape

While less formal styled bonsai trees suit most shapes of bonsai pot, including rectangular with rounded corners, oval, round, hexagonal, and such, formally shaped bonsai trees look best in angular, straight edged pots with sharp corners. For literati bonsai trees, many bonsai artists like to pot them in round bonsai pots, which can be simple and beautiful indeed. And as for multi-trunk or forest bonsai, the bonsai trees should be potted in large shallow bonsai pots or slabs of rock for the image of a natural landscape. Check this post – Bonsai Pots for Different Bonsai Styles – for more details.

It often takes quite some time to find the right bonsai pots for our trees. Be patient. This is part of the whole bonsai experience, and we should just enjoy the bonsai pot shopping as well.